TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Amiss]

I like the airy tone at the beginning and the vacillating tone of the piece - seems cheery and full of wonder at one moment, and the stuff of horror films at others, and sometimes both at once. The texture is pretty minimal, but it makes for a good ambiance. The denser rhythm at 2:09 was a good way of adding some variety to the structure in a piece that otherwise has a pretty uniform texture. The loop doesn't seem to be that smooth, but I'm also not sure it's intended to be. Just wouldn't be an AIM without an LSD submission! Cheers, Ale. ^_^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hey there!
I'm glad you enjoyed the oxymoronic feel of this piece. I was really close to missing this AIM, but thankfully @Everratic reminded me of the NGADM, and then I happened to see the AIM deadline at the same time. It's been a hectic year for me, but I hope to be getting back to music a bit more now after the summer :D

As for the loop, try downloading the piece, put your DAW to 7/8, at tempo 107, and set it to loop, and I think the loop should be seamless (some DAWS might be able to loop the audio-file without changing any settings). I also know that the Winamp player is capable of it, but only on the Windows version. It's a shame, because Newgrounds used to be able to loop songs almost flawlessly, but not since the new player. The only way is to have a bit of complete silence at the beginning and end of the piece, and even then it jumps almost a beat, which limits composing a bit if you do it with the player in mind :V

[Gaea]

SFW! It's been too long, my friend. I like the tranquil and pensive mood at the beginning. Sounds like robot babies learning how to walk for the first time. XD You set the atmosphere really nicely, and the gentle build into :55 was well-done. The snare-equivalent there sounds a tad grating to me - I might've softened the treble tones and added some reverb, but in general I'm not sure I'm qualified to give you of all people production advice, lol. :D The uplifting mood and floaty atmosphere is a 10/10, though, and the piece has a good sense of build into 3:10. You might've been able to sell the emotional quality of 3:10 a tad more, as that felt like the climax of the piece. That said, the piano at the end was a wise choice - really makes the piece come full-circle. Solid work, SFW! You're clearly a really talented and versatile composer. ^_^

sleepFacingWest responds:

Thank you! I always look forward to your insightful feedback. That sine wave snare can get a bit harsh. I was trying to replicate something I’d heard nearly a decade ago at a modern dance event and unfortunately never got to speak with the composer about his sound design technique. It was like he took a bunch of super high sine waves, loaded them into an inflated balloon, then sprayed them out through a wet filter. It was incredible. This emulation is a bit more hard, but I think my ears got used to it after awhile.
Thanks you for listening!

[Greenest Grass]

The collab streak continues! I like the tranquil mood at the beginning and the crisp strings that help keep the beat. The heavier guitars at :42 were a pleasant surprise, and despite the constant energy level later on in the piece, there's a lot of variety in the instrumentation and melodic riffs. The breakdown at 2:16 comes on a tad suddenly, and there still isn't much content in here that breaks up the really staccato-y texture IMO. The held string lines at 2:38 start to accomplish that, though, and I really like the sweet, mellow ending this has. Keep up the good work, guys! ^_^

[Being Alive is Fucking Weird]

That it is, my friend. I like the wonky beats towards the beginning and the blissful melodies at :10. The transition into :23 is a bit abrupt, and the mix sounds pretty distorted here. The way the tension in the texture resolves at :46 with the variational drum pattern and chill pads is super satisfying, though, and the melodies at 1:20 are great. The relaxed guitars at 1:43 pair nicely with the ongoing frantic drums and pulsing atmospheric elements. There's a deep-seated underlying sense of unease in this piece that consistently defies the melodies, sound design, and atmosphere. It's tantalizing and fascinating to me. The slower pace of the melodies towards the end seems fitting in a way - perhaps emblematic of the pattern life itself takes. Stay weird, LLAAPPSSEE!

[Brain Rot (with Celcius)]

I like the ominous mood at the beginning and the frantic synths at :12. The rhythmic content is great, and the mixing is loud and crisp, if a tad over-compressed at times. The drop at :51 was a tad anti-climactic IMO. The re-intro at 1:42 comes across as a tad formulaic, although it does flow nicely into the section at 1:55. Again, the drop at 2:08 felt pretty minimal and thematically isolated from the rest of the piece. The sound design is probably my favorite aspect of the piece, though - a lot of quirky and well-mixed instruments in here. Solid work overall, guys! ^^

[MECHANIZED]

This is the sort of stuff I remember you making! I like the gritty bass at the beginning and how you start breaking them up with the dreamy guitars at :17. The more melodic flair to the piece by :35 or so is also a very welcome development. Later on, the arrangement feels a tad choppy. I'm enjoying the rhythmic content, and the production quality is particularly impressive here. That said, I'm not sure you quite capitalize on the momentum of the solos at :35 by reverting to the gruff undertones at :53. I similarly enjoy the more slow-paced emotional height at 2:02, but it also feels a tad isolated from the rest of the composition - not much build-up into it or break-down thereafter. Almost feels like this piece is torn between two personas - the soaring melodic ones and grouchy rhythmic ones - and the rhythmic ones win out at the end of the day. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I think the composition would be more interesting to me if you had tried to thread the two personas together a bit more. In short, you can totally shred on these solos, and your mixing skills are really strong. The transitions (or lack thereof) are what's giving me pause. Either way, glad to see you're still around, man! I remember listening to your stuff as far back as 2015. ^_^

Ritz190 responds:

Big thanks for the reviews and glad to see you still active around here as well!

If I'm being honest about this song it's def a blend of 2 personas that clash fundamentally. These set of songs were more focused on working with limited tools and time as i wrote this using garageband on my apple ipad using an irig to record guitars and bass. I agree with you about the transitions there wasn't much though put into that aspect and the ones that are there are basic and repetitive. These days my main focus has been my band but I feel my chops up somewhat with these kinds of projects.

I appreciate your feedback!
Peace!

[Virtua Hotel (WIP)]

I like the groovy bass line and crisp drums. The synths are a bit cheesy, but the melodic content and variations in the sound design starting at around :55 work well. The production quality is pretty good too, and the more atmospheric elements at 1:13 help fill out the texture nicely. The piece could've used a stronger sense of narrative later on, but it's still really catchy and smooth-flowing. The guitar solo at the end starts to take the piece in a very different direction. I love the energy level and atmosphere around the guitar, but it also seems like a bit of an appendage to the piece - not fully integrated yet. Piece has a lot of potential, though. I hope you revisit it! Cheers, Ritz.

Ritz190 responds:

Oh yeah this song is nowhere near finished but I still wanted to share. I really miss the days when I posted what I had finished or not for feedback like this.

Cheesy elements in my music is a guilty pleasure on my part but I try not to make it the main focus. Guitar for sure needs work and I was def unsure of how to approach it when putting ideas down but I at least have a direction now.

I'll def expand upon this using your feedback.

Much appreciated as always!
Peace!

[ONESEVENFOUR]

I like the contrast between the spacey pads and gritty, distorted bass at the beginning. The prominent hi-hats and chopped vocals are great. The snare may even be a tad too loud relative to the rest of the mix, though. The bassy bridge at 1:06 was good for some variety, but overall the structure gets a tad repetitive after a while. The atmosphere and mixing are highlights of this one for sure, though. Keep at it, Hairmilk! ^^

[Coconut Village]

I like the airy pads and vocals at the beginning. The harmonies feel a tad busy/dissonant, but over time I warm up to them. The drums are nice and crisp, but also tend to crowd out the vocals in the mix. The "B" riff at 1:15 was good for some variety, and I really like the transition at 2:09. The piece doesn't really have a strong sense of direction to it after a while, although the atmosphere here is really evocative and fun. Neat piece overall! A bit dissonant, but certainly creative and well-mastered. Cheers!